As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to drive crude oil prices higher, gas prices in the Wood River Valley and much of the country have ticked up between $0.42 and $0.50 per gallon in the span of a week, causing major sticker shock at the pump.
At stations in Hailey, gas prices Monday were $4.06 for unleaded, 85 octane gasoline, $4.46 for plus-grade, 87 octane gasoline and $4.86 for premium-grade, 91 octane. Prices were about 50 cents higher at Warm Springs Base Camp in Ketchum: $4.60 for regular unleaded, $5.00 for plus-grade and $5.40 for premium.
The national average for regular gas was $4.06 per gallon on Monday, up from $3.61 per gallon a week earlier, Feb. 28, according to the American Automobile Association.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s average price for regular gas on Monday was $3.96—42 cents more than one week ago, 44 cents more than one month ago and $1.24 more than a year ago.
According to a Monday news release from AAA-Idaho, Idaho gas prices are expected to rise above the $4-mark as soon as Tuesday, March 8.
“These high prices are a bitter pill for drivers to swallow. We’ve now reached the point where some people may have to think about revising or even canceling their spring break plans,” AAA-Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde stated. “Gasoline demand is still building as the weather gets nicer, but that may grind to a halt if families decide that they can no longer reallocate funds to pay for expensive fill-ups.”
Gas prices were highest in California on Monday, averaging $5.34. Some stations in Los Angeles were listing regular unleaded at $6.99 per gallon, according to the AAA.
After California, the nation’s next most expensive markets were Hawaii ($4.69), Nevada ($4.59), Oregon ($4.51), Washington ($4.44), Alaska ($4.39), Illinois ($4.30), Connecticut ($4.28), New York ($4.26) and Pennsylvania ($4.23).
The price of crude oil could rise even higher this week as boycotts of Russian oil exports become more likely, according to Conde.
“Unfortunately, we probably haven’t seen the worst of it,” Conde stated. “With a potential ban on crude oil imports from Russia, the upcoming switch to more-expensive summer-blend fuel, and growing gasoline demand to kick off the spring driving season, there could be plenty to frown about as we stop to fill up over the coming weeks and months.” 
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RV, timing is everything. Fuel prices are high because supply is short and demand is high. Obama was dealing with a major recession beginning his first term and that is exactly what is happening now. It's just recovery. We saw panic buying shortages during the pandemic. Remember no toilet paper! We are still seeing supply issues and shortages and will for some time. But gas prices will come down just like they did with the last few years of Obama.
RV, nice read. I'll grant you that pipelines are cheaper than other types of transportation for crude oil. But we're talking about light sweet crude. Tar sand is anything but light sweet crude. The XL pipeline was supposedly designed for tar sand oil but the oil industry doesn't need it or want it. Yes, they can buy it way cheaper than other sources but instead they choose to export it to Asia and South America. The refining process is intensive and produces a lot of polluting low grade coke that is sold around the world to developing nations as a substitute for coal. Think more carbon release...just what we don't need.
The Gulf coast refineries are exporting roughly 50% of refined products abroad. Seems like a simple solution would be to keep more of that at home. Also, Canada should invest in a refinery capable of refining their own product rather than shipping this tar sand oil all around the world.
The costs associated with extracting, shipping, processing, and potential environmental damage are not worth it.
Keystone XL is an export tar sands pipeline through the United States, not to it. It would carry tar sands to Texas Gulf Coast ports where refineries have been exporting the majority of their product for years and where an increasing amount of Canadian tar sands goes straight from pipelines to tankers to be exported elsewhere. Domestic producers in North Dakota not only don't need Keystone XL, by all accounts, they don't want it. And the pipeline would enable the expansion of some of the dirtiest and most carbon intensive crude oil in the world, undermining efforts to address climate change while putting our communities, lands and waters at risk. It is not in the nation's interest and should be rejected.
CC and RV, you do know that tar sand oil is heated and pumped through a pipeline at extremely high pressure! I'm sure you do. There have already been several blowouts of those pipelines leading to spills. So, just to get it to flow through a pipeline is energy insufficient. Moving tar sand bitumis via rail is safer and just as economical as a pipeline but when is does spill at least is can be cleaned up easier.
Safety is debatable but economically and efficiency are not. Transporting a barrel of oil by train costs $10-$15 per barrel vs $5 by pipeline. “A train of 100 cars carries about 3 million gallons (70,000 barrels) and takes over 3 days to travel from Alberta to the Gulf Coast, about a million gallons per day. The Keystone will carry about 35 million gallons per day (830,000 barrels).” That means you’d need more than 11 trains 100 cars long transporting oil over 3 days to achieve the same result the pipeline could do in one day.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2018/10/11/which-is-safer-for-transporting-crude-oil-rail-truck-pipeline-or-boat/?sh=1e1f32047b23
CC, get a clue! Economists were predicting inflation a year before Trump left office as the pandemic wound down. Oil supply was at an all time low as both Russia and Opec colluded to produce less during the pandemic to keep the price of oil from falling below $35 a barrel. Demand has outpace production with the recovery. That is the reason for gas prices now.
The XL pipeline cost America some nice paying jobs but was a disaster waiting to happen. It's actually happened already. A river bottom back east is covered with tar sand bitumis (sp) which sinks rather than floating and is almost impossible to clean up.
Get educated ...Fox prime time is not news, it's propaganda.
The pipeline is the safest way to move oil. Why do the demorats insist that more supply is bad ?
Investing in oil is like fixing up a Hugo.
Elections have consequences.
These gas prices don't hurt the liberal elites.
Biden's Policies are hurting the poor and low wage earners, the very people he claims to care about.
The Democrat party has become the party of rich elites and corporations.
Unlike the Republicans who are so much the party of the low wage earners...
Here comes the chorus of right wing attacks on Biden. Let’s pause for a moment and consider what the former occupant of the White House would do in this situation…
a) send troops to Ukraine to help the Russians
b) praise Putin as a savvy genius
c) open a hotel in Kiev
d) pull the US out of NATO
e) blame it all on Obama
d) all of the above
Why is it that Putin only invades Ukraine when Biden is in office (both as President and Vice President)? Why is it that the highest gas prices we’ve seen in the last 20 years have also occurred with Biden in office (both as President and Vice President). This is a legitimate question.
Remember before the 2016 Republican Convention the party platform was changed to reflect a much lesser degree of support for Ukraine. This was thanks to Paul Manafort on behalf of … take a guess
No but I do remember Trump sending them missiles after Obama dis nothing when Putin invaded Ukraine the last time....
True - because congress had allocated the money for weapons but the shipment was delayed a bit when tfg wanted a personal campaign related favor from Zelensky before Ukraine could get them.
And hunters laptop was Russian propaganda....nothing to see in Ukraine...look over here...
Trump isn't president anymore.
Gas prices have been rising way before Ukraine.
Biden is a war monger.
The only reason we are paying more is Biden............ Biden wants us to pay more to support the green deal.
Really?? Neither does he control the gas price, nor does he want the green new deal...
His campaign promise was to put an end to the fossil fuel industry-
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/climate/biden-debate-oil.html
And you haven't noticed yet that none of them ever keep any campaign promises? Doesn't change the fact that he is not controllling the price of oil. And I'm absolutely not defending Biden here, I wish he would have kept some of his promises, maybe then he'd be worth defending...
He can control the price of oil- He raised the price !
https://americansforprosperity.org/biden-policies-raising-gas-prices/
Ok, i read the complete article. It mentions policies ... towards the end the build back better agenda (which of course did not pass). Some of these policies might have influenced the oil companies to raise prices, but it was not Biden who in the end raised the price, but the oil distributer (Guess they just needed to make sure to keep their billions in profit). If they reversed the policies, the price would not go down either right now - supply and demand, the need to make the largest profit possible, there is your price increase... The keystone pipeline has no impact on the fuel price, that was meant for actual gas... going from Canada to Mexico. The US is already the larges producer of oil in the world - any further drilling would just add to the pot and go to the highest bidder.
take back the comment on the gas and XL keystone pipeline... crude oil indeed, but stick to the point that it wouldn't matter... just goes to the highest bidder. None of the oil stays here unless the high price is paid
The Keystone would be more supply, just like Saki said yesterday , "the same amount oil is being shipped without the Keystone in place", so if the Keystone was up and running we would have twice the supply and the price would go down.
iamb2 ? What part of "I am going to end the fossil fuel industry" coming from Biden's mouth can't you understand ?
Again, I wish he would put his words in action, but so far, the fossil fuel industry doesn't have any reason at all to complain about Biden.
"Gas and oil permitting have increased under Biden" yahoo news
Badger, those numbers don't really mean anything if Biden writes an executive order and then gets sued and loses the lawsuit 6 months later. Yeah there was a backlog of permits waiting and they all got filled at once. he is responsible for raising the price of oil, pretty easy to watch when he came into office and the price jumps.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-climate-change-environment-and-nature-business-9751c4909a8b1baba28f3bcff9d5fa6e
"the same amount oil is being shipped without the Keystone in place” but not through the efficiency of a pipeline, it’s getting shipped by fuel burning ships and trucks, not only slowing the process and less efficiently, but burning more fuel, the thing the very thing Biden reportedly wants to decrease.
Ask a Tesla driver if they realize their car is powered by coal, natural gas, crude oil and uranium and see the reaction
We CAN'T ban Russian oil. Gas prices will soar, people will drive less, and climate change will slow. Oh wait.
- by andy borowitz, but have to agree
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